BHUBANESWAR: Dismissing all speculations of seat-sharing with some fringe political parties for the forthcoming Lok Sabha and Assembly elections in the state, Odisha chief minister and Biju Janata Dal (BJD) president Naveen Patnaik on Tuesday said the party would go to polls alone.

“We will fight the elections on our own strength. We will have no tie-up with any other political parties,” Mr Patnaik told reporters here.

Many expected that the BJD might go for alliance with smaller political parties to check the advance of Congress which is in “advance” stage of talks with the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) and Left parties.

Sources said the Congress has almost sealed the deal with the JMM and Left parties and a formal announcement will be made shortly.

The BJD president said the party would adopt “winnability” as the main criteria for selection of candidates.

“Winnability is the sole criteria for selection of candidates. We will select the best candidates and manage the elections well,” said the chief minister of Odisha.

Selection of candidates on the basis of “winnability” criteria is also being stressed by the Odisha unit of the Congress party.